


It Started With Pasta

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, First Meeting, Grocery Store, I like it, Lud almost brought up his sexuality in a grocery store, Lud is hella awkward, M/M, and Alfred's cute, and kinda awkward at first, because i don't feel like I'm quite done with this, but also I'm so done with it right now, but more outspoken the longer it goes, hopefully cute, i hope other's like it too, i'm gonna add a second chapter eventually, kinda first date, obligatory age questions, this is short, this story is a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 08:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15360216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: Ludwig wasn't going to ignore the fact that the cutest man he'd ever seen couldn't reach the top shelf and that he could be of some assistance.





	It Started With Pasta

**Author's Note:**

> For @alfredsmom on Tumblr. This actually isn't all of this fic (as the tags say) but I've got other stories I need to work on for the time being so I'm going to come back to this later. I hope you like what's here and I'm sorry it's so short.

The grocery store was one of the least romantic places Ludwig could think of and yet here he was watching probably the cutest man he’d ever seen try desperately to reach the top shelf as if it were miles away. In reality, his fingers were just a couple inches from being able to reach the shelf itself but Ludwig seriously doubted that he’d be able to grab whatever he was reaching for without knocking everything else over. The man was already on his toes, his neck craned back in what had to be an uncomfortable position and his bottom lip secured between his teeth. Ludwig had started to wonder how many freckles were in the constellations of his face when he realized that  _ he  _ could reach whatever the other man was reaching for and he had been standing there like a complete ass without offering assistance.

He strode over to the other’s side and reached toward the shelf, “What are you…?”

The tanned hand of the other man lowered as he settled back onto his heels, “I need the spiral ones, you know--yeah, those!”

Ludwig's eyes focused in on the pasta in front of him; honestly, he hadn’t even realized that they were in the pasta aisle until just then but it didn’t really matter. He retrieved the box with very little effort on his part and passed the box to the smaller man, “Here.”

Blue eyes blinked up at him from behind broken glasses--white tape was tightly wrapped around the left side but Ludwig could still see where the limb had snapped in the middle. 

“Hey, um, I know this is a weird question to ask but...uh...there’s some other stuff that I need to get and, I mean, a lot of it is really high up and...well, uh, if you’re not in a rush could you walk around with me and get the stuff on the taller shelves?”

Ludwig stared at him and he knew he was staring but he was also completely uncertain of whether or not he had heard the man correctly. The man started waving his hands in front of him, “Oh, ah, you don’t have to. Wait, I haven’t introduced myself have I? I’m Alfred! It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

He didn’t know how weak willed he was until Alfred smiled at him, “Ludwig. I’m in no rush.”

Alfred laughed and nodded, “Great! Then we should get started!”

It started off fairly simple. Alfred would go down an aisle and get everything he needed on the lower shelves and then proceed to point at things he couldn’t reach and call Ludwig’s name. It became more difficult, however, when Alfred started asking him questions as he was getting his own items.

“I haven’t ever seen you around here. Did you just move here?”

Ludwig nodded, “Yes, I just started a job in the area.”

“Ooh, where do you work?”

“I’m... maybe 'job' isn’t the right word. I’m an assistant to an architect nearby.”

Alfred laughed, “Wow. I’m just an intern at an accounting firm. How old are you?”

Ludwig sighed, “I’m 23.”

Alfred stopped what he was doing and blinked up at him, doe-eyed, “No way. You’re younger than me.”

Honestly, Ludwig felt like he was probably more surprised by that statement than Alfred was. Alfred shook his head, “Only a little though. I just turned 24 last month.”

That made more sense, “Oh, I see. I turn 24 in October.”

Alfred nodded as if this were a very serious subject, “That’s more understandable. So, where are you from?”

Ludwig scanned the aisle for the seasoning he needed, “Berlin.”

“Very cool, very cool. I grew up in this town and I’ve only left the country twice so I don’t have an interesting place, unfortunately. Never been to Germany, either, what’s it like?”

Ludwig shook his head, “I’m not really sure how to describe an entire country. It’s home.”

Alfred shrugged, “That’s fair, I guess. I think I’d describe here as quiet.”

The conversation continued like this for the majority of their shopping trip and they separated at the door with a small wave and an awkward smile. Ludwig thought that he probably should have asked for Alfred’s phone number at the end but nerves got the better of him for a multitude of reasons. 

It turned out that he hadn’t needed to ask in the first place.

* * *

 

They ended up having the shopping schedule and every time Ludwig needed groceries for the next two months Alfred was somewhere in the aisles struggling to reach something on a shelf much taller than he was. It was without fail that they ended up making their rounds through the store together like some old married couple. It was on their fifth trip that the questions got more difficult to answer.

“So, um, do you have a girlfriend?”

Ludwig dropped the chips he was holding, “Wh-what?”

Alfred was smirking up at the ceiling, “I’ll take that as a no? I just figured that since you’re a pretty attractive guy you might’ve had somebody.”

Ludwig shook his head, “No, I…”

_ I’m not interested in girls. _

But he wasn’t about to say something that drastic in the middle of a grocery store. He swallowed and continued to shake his head. Alfred shrugged and looked into his cart, “No matter. I’m not spoken for either.”

“Okay.”

Alfred laughed and picked up the bag of chips that Ludwig had dropped, “Well should keep going, huh?”

They had known each other for four months when he finally,  _ finally _ , asked for Alfred’s number but he did it under the guise of it being odd that they knew each other so well and didn’t talk to each other outside of the grocery store. The way Alfred’s face lit up when he asked told him he had done something right; the way his heart skipped a beat when his phone lit up with the first message later that night told him exactly the opposite.

He was in trouble.

_ U wanna grab lunch tomorrow? _

So much trouble.

* * *

 

They met up at a bakery just two blocks away from Ludwig’s apartment and he had to wonder if Alfred lived close by as well. Additionally, Al was dressed in much brighter colors that day than he was when he went to store. He had a bright blue hoodie on and Ludwig couldn’t stop noticing how bright his eyes looked because of it. Also, his glasses were new and he couldn’t help but smile at the new frames. They were much wider than his last ones and they made his cheeks look so much chubbier and cuter than before.

“Hey!  It’s actually really weird knowing you exist outside of the superstore, dude!”

He chuckled and settled down into the seat across from his friend, “The same could be said about you, you know.”

Alfred laughed, “Yeah, that’s fair. No, actually, you see, I live  _ in _ the superstore and I’ve only come outside because I think you’re pretty enough for me to bear sunlight for the short time that I had to be outside.”

He felt his face heat up at that, “Be serious.”

Alfred put his hand to his chest in mock offense, “What? Me? I’m never serious.”

“You’re not this bad in the store.”

“People are judgey in the store.”

“Fair.”

“But, no, I do think you’re pretty. I was being serious about that much.”

Ludwig looked away, more embarrassed than he probably should’ve been, and he couldn’t help but think that a box of pasta started this for him and that somehow it might’ve been working to his favor.


End file.
